Snappers win homestand finale

BELOIT - The Beloit Snappers, solid in all three phases of the game Thursday night, recorded a 4-2 victory over Burlington in the finale of their six-game homestand.

The Snappers made plays all over the diamond defensively, came up with a few clutch hits and saw three pitches combine on a four-hitter while allowing no earned runs before an announced crowd of 844 at Pohlman Field.

Anthony Churlin, who just turned 22 and is in his fourth year in the A's organization, made three difference-making plays in the game.

The first came in the bottom of the first inning. The Snappers put the first two runners on base in the frame, and had just one out with runners on second and third when Churlin came to the plate after Devin Foyle struck out.

While nothing spectacular happened (Churlin grounded to short and Joseph Pena scored from third for the game's first run), Churlin did his job and executed, something that has been sorely lacking for the 21-36 Snappers.

The second play came in the top of the fifth inning, with the game tied at 1-1.

With a runner on second and two outs, Jordyn Adams sent a line drive single to Churlin in right field. He came up throwing and gunned out Alvaro Rubalacaba at the plate to keep the game tied.

"I think that was probably the biggest play I made all night," Churlin said. "With two outs and a tight game like that, I figured they would send the runner. Thankfully I was able to get a good throw off and throw him out. I think that got some momentum going our way."

The third play came in the bottom of the seventh with the score still tied at 1-1. Foyle led off the frame with a single and stole second base before Churlin singled to left to score Foyle with the go-ahead run.

When JJ Schwarz followed with a two-run blast, the Snappers had some welcome insurance.

Snappers manager Lloyd Turner said Churlin, an 18th-round selection in the 2016 draft out of Island Coast High School in Cape Coral, Fla., has the skills to succeed.

"He's flashed that ability to do well here," Turner said. "Unlike a lot of guys, he's had the opportunity to fail. The organization obviously sees something in him because he's still young at 22, and he's still getting a chance here. We're not asking for him to be great. We just want him to find some consistency."

Churlin agrees with his manager's assessment. He hit just .197 between Beloit and Vermont last year, and is batting .220 without a home run this season for Beloit.

"That's what this game is all about, doing it every day," Churlin said. "The more consistent you are in this game, the more success you're going to have. That goes for anything in life, really. But when you show you can do things consistently, the team learns they can depend on you. Those things really come with experience and time."

Chase Cohen got the start for the Snappers and pitched well, allowing just two hits and one unearned run in five innings of work. It was his second straight solid start after a rough month of May that saw his ERA skyrocket to 7.62 at one point.

"I thought I threw the ball well overall," Cohen said. "I went to too many three-ball counts, and I walked three guys, which is too many. But overall I limited the hits and got a lot of weak contact, and the defense really helped me out a couple of times."

Michael Danielak (3-0) picked up the win with two scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 0.89 for the season, while Charlie Cerny notched his second save by pitching the final two frames.

• UP NEXT: The Snappers head on the road to face the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Friday night. The two teams finish a suspended game that stopped with Beloit leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, then play a seven-inning contest to kick off the weekend series.

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